روي أنه قال رجل من أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله
عليه وسلم: نهينا أن نسأل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن شيء
فكان يعجبنا أن يجيء الرجل من أهل البادية العاقل فيسأله ونحن
نسمع. فجاء رجل إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من أهل نجد
ثائر الرأس يسمع دوي صوته ولا يفقه ما يقول حتى دنا فإذا هو يسأل
عن الإسلام فقال: يا رسول الله، أخبرني ماذا فرض الله علي من
الصلاة. فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: خمس صلوات في اليوم
والليلة. فقال: هل علي غيرها؟ قال: لا إلا أن تطوع.
فقال: أخبرني ما فرض الله علي من الصيام. قال
رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: صيام شهر رمضان. قال: هل علي
غيره؟ قال: لا إلا أن تطوع.
فقال: أخبرني بما فرض الله علي من الزكاة.
قال: وذكر له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الزكاة قال: هل علي
غيرها؟ قال: لا إلا أن تطوع.
قال: فأدبر الرجل وهو يقول: والله لا أزيد
على هذا ولا أنقص منه. قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: أفلح
إن صدق.
It is
reported that one of the companions
of the Prophet (sws) said: “We were directed to refrain from
asking any questions
from the Prophet (sws). Due to this, we were glad when an
intelligent Bedouin would come to the Prophet (sws) and ask
him questions [about Islam], while we could hear [the
Prophet’s answers]. So, one day [while we were present,] a man
from the Najd came to the Prophet (sws). His hair was tangled
and he had a rumbling sound in his voice. We could not
understand what he was saying, till he came near us. It was
then that we realized that he was asking about [some of the
obligatory practices of] Islām. He asked: “Prophet of God,
tell me, what has God prescribed upon me in the case of salāh?”
The Prophet (sws) replied: “Five prayers during a day and
night [are obligatory upon you].” He asked: “Is there any
thing else in this regard that is obligatory upon me?” The
Prophet replied: “No, except that if you desire to offer
supererogatory prayers.”
He continued: “Tell
me, what has God prescribed upon me in the case of fasting?”
The Prophet (sws) replied: “Fasting during the month of
Ramadan.” He asked: “Is there anything else in this regard
that is obligatory upon me?” The Prophet replied: “No, except
that you offer supererogatory fasting.”
Then he asked:
“Tell me, what has God prescribed upon me in the case of zakāh?”
The Prophet (sws) told him about the law relating to zakāh. He
asked: “Is there anything else that is obligatory upon me, in
this connection?” The Prophet (sws) replied: “No, except that
you wish to offer supererogatory charity.”
At this, the man
turned around to leave,
saying: “By God, I [shall fulfill these obligations, but]
shall neither offer anything of my own accord nor reduce
anything from these [practices].” The Prophet (sws) said: “He
shall be successful [in the hereafter], if he can do as he
says.”
Notes on the Text of
the Narrative:
This narrative or a
part of it, with some variations, has been reported in Bukhārī
(Nos. 46, 1792, 2532 and 6556), Muslim (Nos. 11, 12), Tirmidhī
(No. 619), Nasā’ī (Nos. 458, 2090, 2091, 5028), Abū Dā’ūd
(Nos. 391, 392, 3252) Ahmad (Nos. 1390, 2254, 2380, 12479,
13034, 13842), Mālik Ibn ‘Anas (Nos. 423), Dārimī (Nos. 650,
651, 652, 1578), Nasā’ī’s Sunan al-Kubrā (Nos. 319, 2400,
2401, 5863, 11759), Ibn Khuzaymah (Nos. 306, 2074), Bayhaqī
(Nos. 1572, 2057, 4235, 4237, 7692, 8394), Ibn Hibbān (Nos.
155, 1724, 3262), Abū Ya‘lā (No. 3333). Except where otherwise
specified, the preferred text is the one reported in Bukhārī
(No. 46).
The opening part of
the narrative, نهينا أن نسئل رسول
الله صلى الله عليه وسلم... ونحن نسمع. فجاء
(We were directed to refrain from asking… so, one day a man
came) has been reported in Muslim (No. 12), but has been
omitted in Bukhārī (No. 46). In Bukhārī (No. 46), the phrase
فجاء has
been reported as حاء,
as the narrative starts with this word. There are a few other
differences as well in the reporting of the incident, as
recorded in some narratives of Muslim, Tirmidhī, Ahmad etc.
Ahmad (No. 2380) gives the most comprehensive picture of this
alternative reporting. The complete narrative is given below:
روي أنه بعثت بنو سعد بن بكر ضمام بن ثعلبة
وافدا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقدم عليه وأناخ بعيره
على باب المسجد ثم عقله ثم دخل المسجد ورسول الله صلى الله عليه
وسلم جالس في أصحابه وكان ضمام رجلا جلدا أشعر ذا غديرتين فأقبل
حتى وقف على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في أصحابه فقال أيكم
بن عبد المطلب فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أنا بن عبد
المطلب قال محمد قال نعم فقال بن عبد المطلب انى سائلك ومغلظ في
المسألة فلا تجدن في نفسك قال لا أجد في نفسي فسل عما بدا لك قال
أنشدك الله الهك واله من كان قبلك واله من هو كائن بعدك آلله
بعثك إلينا رسولا فقال اللهم نعم قال فأنشدك الله الهك واله من
كان قبلك واله من هو كائن بعدك آلله أمرك ان تأمرنا ان نعبده
وحده لا نشرك به شيئا وان نخلع هذه الأنداد التي كانت آباؤنا
يعبدون معه قال اللهم نعم قال فأنشدك الله الهك واله من كان قبلك
واله من هو كائن بعدك آلله أمرك ان نصلى هذه الصلوات الخمس قال
اللهم نعم قال ثم جعل يذكر فرائض الإسلام فريضة فريضة الزكاة
والصيام والحج وشرائع الإسلام كلها يناشده عند كل فريضة كما
يناشده في التي قبلها حتى إذا فرغ قال فإني أشهد أن لا إله الا
الله واشهد أن سيدنا محمدا رسول الله وسأؤدي هذه الفرائض وأجتنب
ما نهيتني عنه ثم لا أزيد ولا أنقص قال ثم انصرف راجعا إلى بعيره
فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حين ولى ان يصدق ذو
العقيصتين يدخل الجنة.
It is reported that
the tribe of Banū Sa‘d Ibn Bakr sent Damām Ibn Tha‘labah as
their representative to the Prophet (sws). He made his camel
sit at the entrance of the mosque and tied it. Then he entered
the mosque. At that time, the Prophet (sws) was sitting among
his companions. Damām was a strong man with long hair. He was
wearing his hair in two plaits. He approached us till he
reached where the Prophet (sws) was sitting among his
companions. Then he asked: “Who, among you, is the son of
‘Abdul Muttalib?” The Prophet (sws) replied: “I am the son of
‘Abdul Muttalib.” He asked: “Is your name Muhammad?” The
Prophet replied in the affirmative. He said: “Son of ‘Abdul
Muttalib! I am going to ask you a few questions very bluntly.
Do not be offended by my questions.” The Prophet replied: “I
will not be offended. You may ask what you desire.” He said:
“Then I ask you in the name of the one God – your God, the God
of those, who have passed before you and the God of all those,
who are to come after you – Has God made you a Messenger to
us?” The Prophet replied: “By my God, yes [He has].” He said:
“I ask you in the name of the one God – your God, the God of
those, who have passed before you and the God of all those,
who are to come after you – Has God directed you to tell us
that we should worship Him alone and that we should not
ascribe partners to Him and that we should leave the gods –
held as equals – that our ancestors used to worship?” The
Prophet replied: “By my God, yes [He has].” He said: “I ask
you in the name of the one God – your God, the God of those,
who have passed before you and the God of all those, who are
to come after you – has God directed you to tell us to offer
these five [obligatory] prayers?” The Prophet replied “By my
God, yes [He has].” Then he started asking about the
obligatory practices of Islam, one after the other. [He asked
about] zakāh, fasting, hajj and all the laws of Islam, every
time he put the Prophet under oath, just as he had done in his
previous questions. This went on till he had asked all his
questions. Then he said: “I bear witness that there is no god,
besides the one God and that our leader – Muhammad – is a
messenger of God. I shall carry out all these obligatory
practices and shall refrain from all that you have stopped me
from, but I shall neither add any thing to these practices of
my own accord, nor shall I reduce anything from these.” Then
he turned, walking towards his camel. When he turned, the
Prophet said: “If this man with two plaits can do as he says,
he shall enter the [everlasting bliss of] Paradise.”
Besides Ahmad (No.
2380), almost the same version of the narrative is reported in
Muslim (No. 12) Tirmidhī (No. 619), Nasā’ī (No. 2091) Ahmad
(Nos. 12479, 13034), Dārimī (Nos. 650, 651, 652), Nasā’ī’s
Sunan al-Kubrā (Nos. 2401, 5863), Bayhaqī (No. 8394), Ibn
Hibbān (No. 155), Abū Ya‘lā (No. 3333).
In some narratives, as
for instance, in Bukhārī (No. 1792), the phrase
رجل من أهل نجد (a
man from the people of Najd) is replaced by
أعرابيا (a
Bedouin) and by رجل من أهل البادية
(a man from the people of the desert), as for instance, in
Muslim (No. 12).
The sentence
فقال يا رسول الله أخبرني ماذا فرض الله علي
من الصلاة (He said: “Prophet of God,
tell me, what has God prescribed upon me in the case of salāh?”)
– as reported in Bukhārī (No. 1792) – has been reported as a
question regarding Islam, in general, in Bukhārī (No. 46), in
the words فإذا هو يسأل عن الإسلام
(we realized that he was asking about Islam.).
The sentence
فقال أخبرني ما فرض الله علي من الصيام
(He said: “Tell me what has God prescribed upon me in the case
of fasting”) has been reported in Bukhārī (No. 1792).
The phrase
صيام شهر رمضان
(fasting during the month of Ramadan) has been reported in
Bukhārī (No. 2532). In Bukhārī (No 46), the phrase
صيام شهر رمضان
(fasting during the month of Ramadan) has been replaced with
وصيام رمضان
(fasting during Ramadan), while in Bukhārī (No. 1792), the
phrase has been reported as شهر
رمضان (the month of Ramadan).
The sentence
فقال أخبرني بما فرض الله علي من الزكاة
(He said: “Tell me what has God prescribed upon me in the case
of zakāh”) has been reported in Bukhārī (No. 1792).
In some narratives, as
for instance in Bukhārī (No. 1792), the word
الزكاة (zakāh)
has been replaced by the phrase
شرائع الإسلام (laws of Islam
[relating to zakāh]), while in Abū Dā’ūd (No. 391), the word
has been replaced by الصدقة
(sadaqah), which is also used for zakāh.
In some narratives, as
for instance in Bukhārī (No. 1792), the sentence
لا أزيد على هذا ولا أنقص
(I shall neither add anything of my own accord nor reduce
anything from these) has been reported as
لا أتطوع شيئا ولا أنقص مما فرض الله علي
شيئا (I shall neither offer any
supererogatory practices, nor reduce anything from what God
has prescribed upon me).
The words
منه after the
phrase لا أزيد على هذا ولا أنقص
has been reported in Muslim (No. 11).
In some narratives, as
for instance in Bukhārī (No. 1792), the sentence
أفلح إن صدق (If
he can do as he says, then he shall be successful) has also
been reported as: دخل الجنة إن صدق
(If he can do as he says, he shall enter paradise). While in
some narratives, this phrase has been recorded as
أفلح وأبيه إن صدق
(If he can do as he says, then he and his father shall be
successful), which, obviously, seems to be a mistake of the
narrators.
(This write-up is prepared by the Hadīth Cell of Jāved Ahmad
Ghāmidī)
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